Brushes



S. O. HARLAN May 7, 1957 Filed Aug. 5, 1953 FIG. 6

' FIG? FIG. 8

uv. n MW y 7, 1957 s. 0. HARLAN 2,790,985

BRUSHES Filed Aug. 5, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 NvENToR. STEPHEN o. HARLAN b5. BYyM/2% BRUSHES Stephen 0. Harlan, Elmhurst, lll., assignor to Zimmerman Brush Works, Inc., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application August 5, 1953, Serial No. 372,480

4 Claims. (Cl. 15-183) This invention relates to brushes and particularly to brushes of the cylindrical type.

' nited States Patent While cylindrical brushes are made in many different 3 ways, one type of cylindrical brush that is quite common has a plurality of lines of tufts formed thereon so as to extend longitudinally of the brush axis and at points spaced about the axis of the brush. In the formation of such brushes it is quite common to utilize a plurality of individually formed tufted brush units which are then secured in position about a central support such as a mounting shaft. It has long been recognized that the making of tufted brushes is quite expensive, and in view of this it is the primary object of the present invention to enable tufted cylindrical brushes to be made in a more economical manner, and more specifically it is an object to enable strip or continuous type brush units to be readily and easily utilized to produce a tufted type cylindrical brush. More specifically, it is an object to enable such strip type continuous brush units of the machine-made kind to be used to form tufted cylindrical brushes.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a tufted type cylindrical brush embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the brush;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the brush;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 5 and 6 are plan views of the fastening plates that are utilized;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of one of the continuous type brush units utilized under the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of an alternative form of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the brush shown in Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is an end elevational view of the brush shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

For purposes of disclosure the invention is illustrated herein in Figs. 1 to 6 as embodied in a cylindrical type brush having a plurality of longitudinally extending lines L-l, L2, L-3 and L-4 of tufts 21 arranged at spaced points about the axis of a central mounting memher in the form of a shaft 22. The cylindrical brush 10 is formed through the use of two continuous type machine-made brush units 25. These brush units 25 are made as a continuous strip with a metal back 258 bent to a generally U-shaped form so that through the use ice of a central wire 25W within the back 2513, a plurality of bristles B, that are looped about the central wire 25W, are held in position within the back 253. This is a common type of machine-made strip type brush unit, and under the present invention each of these brush units is utilized to afford at least two lines of tufts in the completed brush.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6, two brush units 25 are utilized, and these are disposed along and parallel to opposite sides of the mounting shaft 22. The brushes 25 are held in position on the shaft by a pair of securing plates 26R and 26L that are generally similar in form and which are held on opposite sides of the shaft 22 by bolts 27 that are passed diametrically through the shaft and through openings 27H formed in the plates 26R and 26L.

As will be evident in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the edge portions of the two plates 26R and 26L engage the inwardly sloping opposite sides of the brush back 25B so that the brush back is held in position against the side of the shaft 22, and in addition to this holding function, the plates 26R and 26L, under the present invention, have the function of bending the bristles B of the continuous type brush unit out of their normal plane of projection with respect to the brush back so as to form tufts. The function of the plates 26R and 26L is such that adjacent groups of bristles B are bent to different positions, thus to form individual tufts 21 as is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. This is accomplished as shown in Figs. 2 to 6 by forming the plates 26R and 26L with cooperating notches N and projecting fingers F. Thus, when the plates 26R and 26L are in position on the shaft, a finger F serves to bend a group or tuft 21 of bristles into the space defined by an opposing notch N. This serves to form the groups of bristles B that define the several tufts 21, and in each instance, the brush unit 25, as shown in Figs. 1 to 6, is effective to form two lines of tufts 21, thus to afford a brush having four lines of tufts through the use of but two strip type brush units 25.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 to 10, a cylindrical brush is illustrated having six lines of tufts L-l to L-6, and these six lines of tufts are afforded through the use of but two brush units 25. To accomplish this, the brush units 25 are held in position by a pair of securing plates 126L and 126R, and these plates are formed with fingers F and notches N which bend certain of the bristles to form tufts in the lines L-l and L-3, while an intermediate line of tufts such as the line L-2 is formed by afiording opposed fingers F-2 as shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings to direct the intermediate tufts into a plane disposed substantially midway between the lines L-l and L-3. It will be recognized that where three lines of tufts are formed from but a single strip type brush unit, the tufts in each line of tufts will necessarily be spaced a somewhat greater distance apart but in many instances this spacing is considered to be desirable.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention materially simplifies and reduces the cost of producing cylindrical type brushes.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the pro ferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification.

I claim:

1. In a cylindrical tufted brush, a supporting shaft, a plurality of continuously bristled strip type brush units having their backs disposed along and parallel to said shaft, and means engaging said backs and securing the same to said shaft and embodying means laterally en gaging the bristles of said brush units to bend alternate groups of such bristles into different angular planes to 3 form a plurality of lines of spaced tufts from the bristles of each brush unit.

2. In a cylindrical tufted brush, a supporting shaft, a plurality of continuously bristled strip type brush units having their backs disposed along and parallel to said shaft, means on said shaft engaging said backs and securing the same to said shaft, and means engaging the bristles of said brush units to bend groups of such bristles todiiferent planes and form a plurality of lines-of spaced tufts from the bristles of each brush unit.

3. In a cylindrical tufted brush, a supporting shaft, a plurality of continuously bristled strip type brush units having their backs disposed along and parallel to said shaft, clamping plates secured on said shaft and engaging said backs and securing the same to said shaft, and means on said clamping plates engaging the bristles of said brush units to bend groups of such bristles to different planes to form a plurality of lines of spaced tufts from the bristles of each brush unit.

4. A brush support comprising a shaft, and a pair of clamp plates secured on opposite sides of said shaft, said plates having corresponding edges thereof formed with opposed slots and fingers adapted to bend adjacent groups of the bristles of a continuous strip type brush unit into different angular planes with relation to said shaft to form a plurality of lines of spaced tufts from the bristles of such a brush unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 280,008 Bioren June 26, 1883 674,384 Nash May 21, 1901 986,679 Bowditch Mar. 14, 1911 1,372,680 Frost Mar. 29, 1921 2,146,624 Cave Feb. 7, 1939 2,496,010 Lotters Jan. 31, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 110,712 Germany June 6, 1900 453,665 Great Britain Sept. 16, 1936 

